Victoria Yacaman

Chicago, Illinois, 60632

vyacaman@student.ccc.edu
16 February 2016
Tony Smith Ph.D., State Superintendent of Education
100 North First Street
Springfield, Illinois 624777-0001
Dear Superintendent Smith,
My name is Victoria Yacaman and I am a full time student studying Special Education at the City
Colleges of Chicago. I am writing in regards to the funding in Special Education, not just in the
Chicago Public Schools system, but as for the state. There has been much conversation about
Special Education programs being shut down. As a special education major, this troubles me in
thinking by the time I will have received my diploma in order to work, there will be no special
education program to teach and make a difference in. Many students who have learning
disabilities or behavioral issues, need the support in order to move forward in succeeding as they
proceed in their education and future life.

Taking account of the student population, 1 in 3 students with learning disabilities do not finish
high school, not to mention that 3 in 5 students with emotional disabilities do not finish high
school either (Special Education Degree). Not only is the statistic for students not succeeding in
high school ridiculously high, but Illinois was in the race for the highest states to reduce grants
for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part B, taking away $24,657,563 in 2013
(Special Education Degree). With so little money spent on students, schools, and the teachers

who work tirelessly in the classroom to succeed in their post-secondary education, these are the
funds in which should be obtaining a position of mandatory funding.

In the United States, $51,000 of taxpayers money each year go to one incarcerated person, that
is nearly 4 times as much as it takes to educate one child with a disability. And with faulty
promises made to educating students with disabilities, the highest percentage of funding given
was less than 50% compared to the funding promised by the government (nea.org). Looking at
Illinois largest school system, Chicago Public Schools, the 128 district-run schools where at
least 15 percent of the student body has special needs also experienced higher staffing cuts on
average a loss of 5.8 percent (Catalyst Chicago, 2015). With many students who require the
assistance of their teachers for that extra support, unlike in many cases the general population of
students, teachers being laid off will only cause more of a downfall in the education of the
students who absolutely need it.
Take it from a Special Education Administrator from Iowa who states, Because of funding cuts,
I have seen an increase in learning gaps, drop-outs, problems with drug abuse, criminal
activities, and an increase in incarcerations (Council for Exceptional Children, 2013). If states,
like Iowa, are not as badly affected by the reduction in grants for Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act Part B, what trouble will our youth be in as they face teachers being laid off and
not enough support from a qualified teacher to teach them? According to Chicago Teachers
Union Special Report, Other than the 30% rule be no greater than 8 with one teacher, and no
greater than 13 with an additional aide, not counting one-on-one aides. Maximum allowable
class sizes increase up to 17 with both a teacher and a whole-class (3). Not only will classrooms
be filled to the maximum with students, but they will be filled up to the max of general education

students, special education students, and teacher whom have no training on how to facilitate and
have the resources to make the students as a part of learning as anyone else.
With so much of this information, please acknowledge the students in Special Education not as a
burden or as space and money being spent, but as students who want to learn just as much as the
other students. Students who have the ability to succeed if they have the system in back of them
to push their limits without giving up on them.
Yours truly,

Victoria Yacaman